Chalk holder



July 25, 1967 SMSUKE SAKAl 3,332,714

CHALK HOLDER Filed March 18, 1966 (9% wax,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,332,714 CHALK HOLDER Saisuke Sakai, 233 Gaza-Nakakoga, Okawa-shi, Fukuoka-ken, Japan Filed Mar. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 535,599 Claims priority, application Japan, Mar. 26, 1965, 40/ 23,247 3 Claims. (Cl. 294-46) This invention relates to an improvement in chalk holders for holding a chalk therein.

Chal-ks, which are widely used in schools, companies and other places, have commonly been gripped by the users in the bare state, thereby getting their fingers and palms dirty, especially in case of colour chalks. Such dirtiness is not only sanitarily undesirable, but also accompanies inconvenience in getting their clothes dirty. Furthermore, because of gripping direct the bare chalk, it is very easily breakable, and only a small portion of the entire length thereof is practically utilized effectively for writing, resulting in a big economical loss.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate such defects as mentioned above.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a small barrel-shaped holder easily gripped by hand in which chalk is kept, thereby avoiding said dirtiness in the fingers and palms and at the same time preventing effectively breaking of the chalk, resulting in the enhanced utility efiiciency of chalks.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a chalk holder showing an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section along the line 1I-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross section along the line IIIIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross section similar to FIG. 3 showing a modification of this invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a hollow barrel-shaped holder-body having relatively reduced outer-diameters both at its upper and lower ends and a relatively enlarged outer-diameter at the intermediate part, and made of elastic materials, such as rubber, synthetic resins and the like. 2, 2 are the longitudinal grooves elongated in the direction of the axial line 0-0 provided on circumferentially equally divided several positions along the inner peripheral surfaces of the holder 1 (in the example shown in the drawing, it is divided quarterly), the walls of the holder-body along the said longitudinal grooves 2 being formed in thin thickness as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, upon application of pressure by an external force, for example, by fingers, the holder-body is easily deformable into a flattened state.

On the inner peripheral surface portions of the holderbody between said longitudinal grooves 2, 2, fins 3, 3 of elastic material are projectingly provided in the oblique direction with an angle in relation to the axial line 0-0, forming several spaced rows of stages overlapped with each other in the axial direction (in the drawings, they are formed integral with the holder-body).

As the chalk holder of this invention is constructed as abovementioned, when the chalk is inserted from the top opening of the holder-body 1 into the inside thereof, the

chalk is .elastically grasped by a number of elastic finmembers within the body. Consequently, the chalk will not be retracted into the body, even if it is used on the blackboard, being held by means of the holder-body 1. Furthermore, as the chalk is protected by the holder-body 1, even if it is compressed or dropped on the floor by error by the user when used for writing, there is little fear of being broken. If the chalk is expended during the use thereof, it is enough only to compress the holder body 1 on the diametrically opposed sides, holding it between the fingers or in the palm. Then, the body 1 will easily deform into a flattened circle or ellipse form, and simultaneously, the fin-members 3, 3 on the sides of reduced diameters will lean against the wall of the holder-body 1, closely contacting with the surface of the chalk. By this deformation of the fin-members, the retained chalk will be urged out automatically from the bottom opening.

When all the processes of discharging the piece of chalk are concluded, the compression against the holder-body 1 is merely released. Then, the body of elastic material will automatically resume its former state, and the deformed fin-members 3 slide on the surface of the chalk to resume their original positions and will hold the newly inserted chalk at its normal position in cooperation with all the other fin-members.

As abovementioned, according to this invention, since the chalk is not held in its bare state, it will dirty neither finger, palm nor clothes, with a sanitary efiect. Furthermore, as the chalk is protected by the holder, there is no fear of breaking, resulting in a very economical effect. Moreover, as discharging process of the chalk is carried out naturally, automatically and smoothly by merely compressing the holder-body during its use, it can be handled very easily.

In the embodiment shown above, the holder-body has the circular cross sections perpendicular to the axial line of the barrel-shaped body, but it is not necessarily so and may be ellipse or any polygons of more sides than a hexagon. Moreover, the fin-members 3, 3 may not necessarily be integral with the holder-body, but may be made separately and planted on the inner surface of the body. Further, in case the holder-body is made of soft material and easily deformable by grasping power, the longitudinal grooves 2, 2 as shown in FIG. 3 may be omitted so as to form the holder body as shown in FIG. 5.

The invention is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawing, as various other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the in ention or the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A chalk holder comprising a hollow barrel-shaped body made of elastic material and having at its opposite ends reduced outer-diameters and on its intermediate part an enlarged outer-diameter, and a plurality of rows of stages of fin-members made of elastic material mounted on the inner peripheral walls with an inclination with respect to the axis of said barrel-shaped body, said fin-members being inclined away from their mountings in a direction towards the writing end of any piece of chalk engaged by the chalk holder.

2. A chalk holder comprising a hollow barrel-shaped body made of elastic material and having at its opposite ends reduced outer-diameter, a plurality of longitudinal grooves elongated in the axial direction on the periphery of the inner surface of said barrel-shaped body and a plurality of rows of stages of tin-members made of elastic material mounted on the inner peripheral walls 'between said longitudinal grooves with an inclination with respect to the axis of said barrel-shaped body, said fin-rnembers being inclined away from their mountings in a. direction towards the Writing end of any piece of chalk engaged by the chalk holder.

3. A chalk holder as in claim 1 where said fill-members are a unitary part of said barrel-shaped body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,264,480 12/ 1941 Owen 294-8632 5 2,606,764 8/ 1952 Mason 294-19 2,728,599 12/1955 Moore 29486.32 3,092,409 6/1963 Murray 294-1 GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner.

10 J. E. OLDS, Assistant Examiner. 

2. A CHALK HOLDER COMPRISING A HOLLOW BARREL-SHAPED BODY MADE OF ELASTIC MATERIAL AND HAVING AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS REDUCED OUTER-DIAMETER, A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINAL GROOVES ELONGATED IN THE AXIAL DIRECTION ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID BARREL-SHAPED BODY AND A PLURALITY OF ROWS OF STAGES OF FIN-MEMBERS MADE OF ELASTIC MATERIAL MOUNTED ON THE INNER PERIPHERAL WALLS BETWEEN SAID LONGITUDINAL GROOVES WITH AN INCLINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OF SAID BARREL-SHAPED BODY, SAID FIN-MEMBERS BEING INCLINED AWAY FROM THEIR MOUNTINGS IN A DIRECTION TOWARDS THE WRITING END OF ANY PIECE OF CHALK ENGAGED BY THE CHALK HOLDER. 